Hercules Will Be Applying For a Sales Tax on Marijuana in April!
Voters in Herculaneum will be asked in April if they want to impose a 3-cent sales tax on marijuana purchases for recreational use. The item will be on the ballot in April after a 6-0 decision by the Board of Aldermen on January 17. For it to pass, the requirement is a simple majority.
Although there are presently no recreational marijuana companies in Herculaneum, Missouri voters approved legislation on November 8 allowing for those sales to those who are at least 21 years old. On December 8, businesses that already sell marijuana for medical purposes were able to begin applying for permits to sell marijuana for recreational purposes.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has 60 days to respond to a facility’s application. According to City Administrator Jim Kasten, “Herculaneum leaders want to be ready if a marijuana-sales business moves in. The recreational marijuana proposal that Missouri voters adopted in November includes an additional 6-cent sales tax that will be applied to such purchases.
On April 4, if voters in Herculaneum approve the city’s ballot initiative, a 9-cent sales tax (three cents for the city and six cents for the state) will be added to the price of recreational marijuana in the community. According to city officials, the current Herculaneum sales tax rate is 9.85 cents per dollar, of which 3.5 cents go to the city, 4.225 cents to the state, 1.625 cents to the county, and 0.5 cents to the Joachim-Plattin Ambulance District.
If Herculaneum voters approve the marijuana tax in April, the total sales tax on any dollar spent on recreational marijuana within the city would be 18.85 cents. According to Kasten, should the initiative be approved by voters, the alderman has not decided how the proceeds from marijuana sales will be used. He said, “We haven’t decided where the money will go.
It is a topic that the board should discuss. The most recent municipality in the county to seek residents to approve a local sales tax on marijuana used for recreational purposes is Herculaneum. The initiative was already on the ballot for April thanks to Festus and Pevely.
